KESK demands 35% additional raise with 20,000 signatures; civil servants' salaries erode by 1.78% in single month

The Confederation of Public Workers' Unions (KESK) submitted a petition signed by 20,000 public sector employees to the Ministry of Labor and Social Security demanding a 35% additional pay raise. The 13.52% increase implemented in July consisted of 6.09% in back-pay inflation adjustment; the actual collective bargaining raise remained at 7%. With July inflation coming in at 1.78%, a portion of that 7% has already eroded in the first month.

According to calculations by the Bureau Workers' Union Research Center (BES-AR), the hunger threshold has reached 48,819 liras and the poverty threshold 120,669 liras; the monthly living cost for a single worker was measured at 77,801 liras. According to the Arbitration Board decision, in 2027 civil servants and retired civil servants will only receive a raise of 5% plus 4 percentage points. Memur-Sen also highlighted the risk that inflation will wipe out this increase.